The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1887-02-10
Tights and Garlic.

The discharge of seventeen Italian
chorus girls of the American Opera
! Company at Chicago, a few weeks ago.
/ bT Manager Locke, for iucompetency.
( recalls an interesting incident. about
! these self-same girls which occurred in
! St Louis, and which is now made pub
/ lie for the first time.
! On Sunday of the week that the opera
vas attracting such large audiences at
Exposition hall several girls went to
John kernan's place, on Twelfth and
Pine streets, and after haggling an hour
! about the price to be paid contracted
for four rooms, each room to have TWO
beds. for which they were to pay 81. ID
each for the week. This included gas
The mother of two of the girls Travelled
with them, and for what assistance she
could render the party her room and
board were furnished free. The girls
were assigned to two of the rooms
Each bed had three occupants, and they
weren't very wide beds, either Those
that couldn't get in bed took to the
floor.
After arranging these details the lead
er of the party said:
I'VE have to have cup of tea in the
mornings, and for this carry a small
oil-stove. You have no objection to our
using this, suppose?"
"Oh. no." replied Herman; that will
be all right"
In so readily granting this seemingly
small request the landlord decidedly
put mis- foot in it, and doomed himself
and wife to a week of unparalleled
harassment. The little oii-stove must
have been made on the duplicate plan,
for it developed into two, one for each
room, and the morning cup of tea
meant three square Italian meals day,
the last being cooked sometime after
midnight. Worse than this, each meal
shed a thousand smells of its own. and
each smell came to stay. Onions and
garlic, macaroni and cheese, We yetables
fried in olive oil. Goldfish. and other
equally delcctable articles of diet We'd
W tn them m-elves for the mastery The
contest would no doubt have been in-
teresting if human nostrils could have
stood the nauseating odors that hung
around, but no one remained to take
the score after the second day Neigh
bOrs came in and asked Herman if he
wasn't aware of the fact that it was a
violation of the law to run a glue facto-
ry inside the city limits, and the dead
animal contractor drove all the wav
down from north ST. Louis 10 ascertain
why he hadn't been notified several
weeks before that there was a dead
horse in the neghborhood But ker-
nan was too mad to reply. His marble |
top tables We're being used Tor meat
blocks. and the Ihantlcs and window |
sril5 were loaded down with bottles of |
olive oil and strings of macaroni
Even this was hot all. The girls did |
all their laundrv-work in the rooms. |
Every other day they washed their |
tights and hung them out of the win |
dows to dry. There they hung, TWEEN
ty-six pairs OF tights OF every conceiva- |
ble color. There were short tights and |
long tights. tights for slim limbs, shape |
ly iimbs, crooked limbs and fat limbs |
1t wAs Il breezy week. and the wind |
would fill every pair full and they !
would dangle around in sight of the |
thousand pedestrians constantly pass |
ing. 1t had weird effect. Twenty |
six human legs without body seemed !
TO be dancing Il ballet in mid-air. and |
crowds no doubt would have gathered |
and watched this voiceless. bodvless |
can-can BY the hour had il been healthy |
around there, but about the lime they |
would get good reserved seat on the |
c,rbstone orr private box on Il fire
pug a gust vi wind would bring them
such a conglomeration of abominable
smells that they would turn and flee un-
der the impression that the girls never
washed their feet. This supposition did
them an injustice, however, for Herman |
says he saw one of them washing her |
feet by the little oil-stove while supper
was cooking. After they left the health
department thoroughly fumigated the
premises, and from this time on no |
opera companies need ever expect good
accommodations and low rates at Ker. |
nan's.-St LOuts Critic.